Back in 2015, IronFall: Invasion made its debut on the Nintendo 3DS. Reviewing it for the now-defunct 8-Worlds News, I was utterly impressed by its technical prowess. Here was a game that successfully brought Gears of War-style action to the 3DS, boasting visuals that remain among the best on the platform. Fast forward nearly a decade, and this remaster has found its way to the Switch. Although there are moments when you notice the constraints of its original hardware, I still find myself enjoying IronFall: Invasion despite its numerous imperfections.
The gameplay is classic third-person cover shooting, reminiscent of the iconic Xbox Gears of War series. By pressing B near a cover point, your character quickly takes position. You can slide along this cover, and with ZL, peek out to shoot. It’s a familiar formula, complete with a rewarding reload system akin to Gears of War, where timed reloads offer bonuses. Although it’s not groundbreaking, it performs competently. The gameplay didn’t set a high benchmark for innovation on the 3DS, and that largely remains unchanged. However, the transition to a proper dual analogue setup on the Switch, compared to the circle pad pro or New 3DS C-nub, makes traversal and gunplay feel markedly smoother. On the downside, the game’s touchscreen-based puzzles, designed for the 3DS, feel clunky without touchscreen support in handheld mode on the Switch. These puzzles were clearly made for touch interaction, and using a standard controller just feels awkward.
As before, the game splits into campaign and multiplayer modes. The campaign lets you step into the boots of Jim Woper, an armored marine who seems straight out of early 2000s action games, and Sam Finch, a tech expert armed with just a pistol. The storyline centers around an alien invasion and some questionable scientific experiments. While the narrative isn’t gripping, it’s enough to drive the action. You mostly play as Jim, navigating through well-structured but repetitive corridor shooter levels. Occasionally, you switch to Sam, whose segments seem to hint at stealth elements, though they never fully embrace this mechanic. Instead, Sam’s missions involve similar environments with less armor and limited weaponry. To break the monotony, there are occasional thrilling setpieces, like turret or sniper sequences, which offer a refreshing change of pace.
However, the multiplayer scene seems a bit deserted. I struggled to find active players or games. The survival mode, where you tackle waves of enemies within a set time, remains an option. On the 3DS, a limited multiplayer demo helped keep the servers buzzing; perhaps a similar approach could revitalize the Switch multiplayer modes.
In terms of visuals, IronFall: Invasion was stunning on the 3DS, and has been suitably updated for the Switch. Developer VD-Dev excels at pushing each platform to its visual limits, delivering 1080p while docked and 720p handheld at 60 frames per second. You can even choose between rendering at 90% or a full 100% resolution, with the latter offering mostly consistent performance. Environments translate beautifully to larger screens with every texture refined to modern HD standards. The game now shares a visual style with VD-Dev’s other Switch release, Rise: Race the Future. Although not as jaw-dropping on the Switch as it was on the 3DS, it remains impressive apart from some rigid character animations.
IronFall: Invasion was a solid third-person shooter encased in stunning technical achievement on the 3DS. I’d rank it among the most technically impressive 3DS games, alongside titles like Resident Evil Revelations, Star Fox 64 3D, and Nano Assault. Without the 3DS context, though, its Switch version becomes a decent, though less remarkable, third-person shooter. Despite this, if you’re seeking a nostalgic Gears of War-like experience from a talented indie studio, IronFall: Invasion might just be worth your time.
